Two men, aged in their 30s and 40s, are being questioned in Kilkenny following the seizure of almost €7 million worth of cannabis linked to the Kinahan organised crime group.
The drugs were discovered when officers from the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau searched an industrial unit in the Kiltorcan Business Park in Ballyhale, Co Kilkenny, yesterday afternoon.
Gardaí believe the business there was operating as a front for an international drug trafficking network.
The men in custody, who were arrested at the scene, can be detained for up to a week.
The €6.9m worth of cannabis was discovered in vacuum packed plastic bags stacked against the wall and ready for shipment.
Gardaí suspect that, unbeknownst to those who leased it out, the unit was being used to front a food business as cover for an international drugs storage and distribution centre.
They believe it was part of the Kinahan gang's drugs network, and that the cannabis was destined for wholesale suppliers in Ireland and the UK through Northern Ireland.
Gardaí say the arrests followed an intelligence led operation as part of Operation Tara which is focused on dismantling drug trafficking networks and prosecuting dealers and suppliers.
Gardaí seized a total of €36.7m worth of drugs in 2021.
